


i don't mind the silence

by sunshineshades



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Awkward Tension, Gen, I love this 96line somehow, Platonic Relationships, might be panic inducing to few
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:07:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22392262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineshades/pseuds/sunshineshades
Summary: In which Soonyoung and Jun plan to leave the awkward pair of their little circle of friends, Jihoon and Wonwoo, together but shit happens instead.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo & Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Jeon Wonwoo/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Kudos: 24





	i don't mind the silence

**Author's Note:**

> When was the last time I wrote SVT fanfic? Was it 2016? Anyway I'm trying to get back into writing fanfic so yeah.
> 
> Also a scene from this story might be panic-inducing to few, so please read at your own risk.

Jihoon wasn't pleased with the idea. Not at all. 

"But why? We're all the same age. It shouldn't be that bad." Soonyoung who couldn't relate to Jihoon's personal problem was bewildered at his friend's reaction. And what he said just now wasn't at all wrong. The four of them were indeed born in 1996. 

Yet Jihoon insisted. Sighing in frustration, he said, "Seriously you don't get it, dude. Me and him, we're like oil and water. You know oil and water? We learned about how incompatible they are back at school."

"Yeah I know. I know that. But dude, you just met him a few times. You didn't even talk with him during those meetings and now you're telling me that you two are incompatible? On what basis? Height difference?"

"Don't you dare bring height into this discussion, Kwon."

Soonyoung quirked his brows at Jihoon, demanding an answer. 

"Well," Jihoon fumbled for words but Soonyoung was not going to listen. He grabbed Jihoon's arm instead and dragged the poor boy away. Jihoon protested and struggled to break free from Soonyoung's grasp. He had to admit defeat, however, to someone who dance as his daily exercise. "Anyway I'm gonna let you know that it's not because I hate him or anything, okay? It's just that well, some people aren't meant to get along."

"Yeah, yeah," Soonyoung nonchalantly replied. He wondered why the hell this one friend of his was so awkward with Wonwoo. But what made it all the more amusing was Wonwoo also felt the same way toward Jihoon. He recalled Jun telling him about how Wonwoo thought it was impossible to get along with Jihoon. _Seriously these guys_ , Soonyoung thought. 

But Jun made an interesting point during the conversation. "It's not really weird I think. Because you know what? There's always gonna be an awkward pair in a group like us," Jun said. "The ones who mix well when everybody's around but get all quiet when there's just two of them."

On hearing that, an idea crossed Soonyoung's mind. "What do you say if we make that happen? I mean leaving them together on their own while we go do our own business."

Jun was delighted at the idea. However, after giving it a thought, he hesitated. "I think Jihoon's gonna disagree even before you mention that to him. Same goes to Wonwoo."

"Well then," Soonyoung said with confidence, "don't let them know. Just make the situation as natural as possible. And when the time comes we get out of the picture and leave them alone."

After the dance practice ended and an hour of careful planning at the rice cake stall near the building was spent well, Soonyoung and Jun high-fived each other in huge satisfaction. 

And thus, today's event ensued. But Jihoon could already smell Soonyoung's intention from miles away. Before the other could say anything he had already invented a group discussion for assignment he never had in the first place, all to ruin his friend's plan. Unfortunately, Jihoon forgot that Soonyoung too could smell his lie from miles away and in the end, he had to yield. 

Jihoon screamed internally in regret, for forgetting that simple fact. 

The four friends arrived at the destination soon after. Soonyoung's eyes searched for Jun and the two boys then exchanged a look in which Jihoon was convinced was actually a secret code for their plan. He looked at Wonwoo who always seemed like he's going to kill someone with his sharp gaze and wondered if that guy knew anything. But even if he did there's no telling it with a face like his. For the umpteenth time Jihoon asked himself just how the hell did he act around Wonwoo. 

The latter glanced at Jihoon and for a brief second their eyes met. But before anything could happen they instantly looked away.

The plan for today was that they would go for bowling, then ate at a fast food restaurant and afterward took a stroll along the street, and maybe checking out any shop that caught their attention. It was a simple plan for a simple night, but for a hidden purpose. 

The bowling centre was on the sixth floor and since it was weekdays, not many people were there, so getting in an elevator was not a competition. Before long, the door to the elevator slid open, revealing an empty space inside. Jihoon went in first followed by Soonyoung and Jun, and later, Wonwoo. Just before the door closed, however, Soonyoung's sudden screeching startled everyone in the elevator. 

"What's wrong?" Jun asked, taken aback. He pressed on the button to keep the door from closing. 

Jihoon could sense something nasty was up with his friend and he did not like that. 

"I forgot my wallet and my phone in the car," Soonyoung said while rummaging all the pockets he had on his clothes. 

"It's okay I can pay for you," Jihoon quickly said. He wished he didn't sound desperate. 

"No, no, no. I have a member card. We can use that to get discounts."

Jihoon shot his friend a look of disbelief. _Seriously, Kwon. When the hell did you become a member of that bowling place?_

"I'll go with you then," said Jun. "I have the member card too but I always leave it in the dashboard so I forget about it."

"Wait, you too, Jun?" 

Jihoon was wondering if he'd said his thought out loud, but soon realized it was actually Wonwoo who spoke for the first time today. 

"Yeah. Why not you two go first and register for us? We'll catch up to you soon. Promise." Jun showed them the peace sign. 

And so did Soonyoung. "Yeah, we'll be right back, babe. Promise." He winked at Jihoon as he stepped out of the elevator to which irritated the latter. 

Watching them merrily left the awkward pair behind as the door to the elevator closed, Jihoon mentally cursed at Soonyoung and Jun. For some reason, he felt betrayed by the two of them. 

' _Ding_ ' went the elevator and silence followed. 

Jihoon stared at his reflection on the metal door absent-mindedly. At times he glanced at Wonwoo's reflection only to acknowledge his incredible height and remind himself how short he was compared to other boys his age. Dispirited, his shoulders drooped.

Wonwoo seemed lost in his thoughts as well, but one could not easily tell with his unreadable facial expression. 

Fortunately, the bowling centre was on sixth floor, so it wouldn't be long until they got there. And surely there would be other people around although it's not as crowded as on weekends. They wouldn't have to get stuck in awkward position for hours and that was fine by Jihoon. 

_It's gonna be just fine. Nothing worse is gonna happen, right?_ Jihoon was positive. 

However, it seemed like the universe didn't want Jihoon to rest in peace with his optimistic thoughts and therefore, it decided to change the course of plan. 

As they reached the fourth floor the elevator suddenly started shaking, as if there was an earthquake, and both Jihoon and Wonwoo staggered, almost losing their balance. Soon after the shaking ceased, the elevator stopped at fifth floor. The light went dim for a second before it blinked several times and went back to normal. Jihoon had thought that the elevator would start moving soon, but to his panic, it didn't. 

"What the hell?" Jihoon asked under his breath, eyes wide. 

Wonwoo who was motionless and expressionless until now looked around with concern. He tapped on the door a few times but received nothing in response. "Did we—"

"Get stuck in an elevator? God yes," Jihoon finished Wonwoo's question and he also answered it. At that thought, his heartbeat quickened. He could feel his mind slowly going haywire and it was never a good sign for him. "Holy shit, we're stuck in an elevator. We're stuck. _Holy shit_."

Jihoon was spiraling downward, succumbing to his panic, and Wonwoo noticed that. He knew right away that he had to stay calm as not to exacerbate the other's panic. Wonwoo started thinking of what to do next in this situation. The good thing was that the light was not out, making the condition a little less horrible for Jihoon who was clenching his chest and whose breathing was already ragged. 

He needed to calm Jihoon down first before he could call for help. That's his priority. Wonwoo bent forward to get a better look at Jihoon. The other's breathing was rapid and irregular, and sweat had dampened his hair and back. Wonwoo gently put his hand on Jihoon's shoulder and said, "Hey, why don't you sit down?"

Jihoon shot him a confused look, not quite catching Wonwoo's words. 

"Why don't you sit down first?" Wonwoo repeated his question. 

Jihoon was hesitant but soon followed Wonwoo's suggestion and sat down. His brain was a mess right now and he couldn't care less about anything but to get out of this suffocating place as soon as possible. 

"I know right now is scary for you," Wonwoo said in a tone adults usually used to persuade children, "but let's try to calm down, okay?" 

That sounded ridiculous to Jihoon. "Huh? Calm down? How?" 

"Here, I'll teach you a breathing technique."

"Jeon, we're stuck here in an elevator and instead of calling for help you want to teach me how to breathe?" 

"Jihoon, help can come later. What's more important right now is you. I don't want to see my friend suffer in a hospital because of panic. It's not pretty. You know that."

It made sense, what Wonwoo said to him. And he did get admitted to a hospital once because of his breathing problem. It was ugly and he knew right then and there that he wouldn't what such a misery to repeat itself. 

"Jihoon, look at me." Wonwoo waved his hand in front of Jihoon's face to catch his attention. 

The said boy lifted his gaze and they exchanged a look with each other. For an instant, Jihoon felt a pang of regret for his behaviour towards Wonwoo a while ago. He was trying to help him out and here he was being a total jerk. "Okay," Jihoon uttered the word all while trying to keep himself at bay.

A smile graced Wonwoo's features. "Okay, good. First I want you to sit in a position comfortable for you." He began to instruct as well as demonstrate the step-by-step of the technique. 

Jihoon adjusted his position a bit and afterward nodded his head to let Wonwoo know he could continue. 

"Now put one hand on your belly, right below your ribs, yes like that, and put the other on your chest. Next, take a deep breath in through your nose. Let your belly push your hand out. Your chest shouldn't move. And hold your breath for a while."

Jihoon focused on Wonwoo's words and obediently followed every instruction he gave. While doing so he unintentionally frowned. 

"Try to relax your shoulder and facial expression too," said Wonwoo as he observed Jihoon. "Now breath out with pursed lips, like you're whistling, and feel the hand on your belly goes in. Use it to push out all the air. Did you get that?"

Jihoon hummed in response. 

They repeated the same activity together for a few times. Wonwoo observed Jihoon closely, assisting him with all he could. As for Jihoon, he tried his very best to follow each step and let his mind focus only on Wonwoo's deep voice. 

"Try doing that three to ten times. You might want to focus on your breathing rhythm too. If you need help, just let me know."

Another hum and a nod. 

"I'm gonna call for help now. Don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine. I'm here with you." After making sure Jihoon's breathing had slowed down and that his condition showed improvement, Wonwoo got up to his feet and looked for the call button on the elevator. He pressed it three times and waited for a while before a woman's voice echoed throughout the small space. Wonwoo let her know of the situation they're in and the woman in return assured them that the maintenance team would arrive shortly to fix the problem. 

After thanking the woman, Wonwoo checked on Jihoon again to see how he was doing and let out a sigh of relief when Jihoon looked much better than before. He sat back down and leaned against the metal wall, staring at the light above him. All they could do right now was to wait in silence, patiently, for the maintenance team to arrive and do their job. He had no idea how long it would take. He just hoped that things wouldn't get even worse than now. Wonwoo took out his phone which then miraculously rang and answered the call from Soonyoung. 

"Yo, Wonwoo, are you two okay in there? We heard from someone that the elevator got stuck?!" His loud voice startled Wonwoo a bit, but he knew Soonyoung was worried. 

"Wonwoo, how are you two doing in there? Don't worry. It's gonna be alright. We'll be there when the maintenance team arrives," Jun said, giving them reassurance.

Wonwoo was about to reply when Soonyoung cut him off. "How's Jihoon? Is he okay? Nothing bad happens to him, right?" 

Wonwoo turned his head at Jihoon who was now more composed. "Yes, yes. He's fine. Wanna talk to him?" 

Jihoon flinched slightly when Wonwoo shot him a sudden look. Now that his brain was no longer a hot mess, the tension that wasn't there until now became discerning. Slowly it rose between them and once again, Jihoon was back to his usual self, the one who didn't know just how to react in this kind of situation. 

Lost in his thoughts for a second, Jihoon was pulled back to reality when Wonwoo passed him his phone. At the other end of the line, he could hear Soonyoung's voice, crystal clear, frantically asking about his condition. Jihoon put the phone to his ear and soon regretted it. Before his hearing got damaged by Soonyoung's shrill, he pulled the phone away. 

"Dude chill," Jihoon replied as soon as he got the chance to talk. "I'm okay now. No need to freak out. You're just gonna make me nervous again."

"I'm so sorry!"

"Also, this isn't in your plan, right?"

"What? No!!!" Soonyoung strongly denied. "I'm not an asshole. I'm still a decent human being. How could you think that? You hurt my feelings, Hoonie."

"Just have to make sure."

"Wait, does that mean he already knows it?" Jun who had been listening to the whole conversation asked. Jihoon could already imagine the look of surprise on Jun's face. 

"Yeah, you're right. I know all your dirty little secrets, you prick," he replied. 

"Well I can't really blame him for that. He just got good sixth sense," said Soonyoung. "Anyway, I can rest in peace now knowing that you're okay. Just hang in there for a while. We'll definitely come to your rescue!"

"You mean the maintenance team."

"We'll be there for you too!" Jun chimed in. 

"Sure, Wen. See you later, bye." And with that he quickly passed the phone back to its owner. 

Wonwoo took it and after exchanging words with the other two for a few seconds, he ended the call. Wonwoo slipped the phone back into his pocket and for the nth time silence settled down between them like it had always belonged there.

Jihoon chewed the inside of his mouth, wondering what to do now. Should he start a conversation with Wonwoo? Or would the latter prefer the silence instead? And if they did manage to get themselves into a conversation, how did they keep it going? What else should they talk about other than college and courses and future careers? Oh, something just crossed his mind. 

"Um, thank you for...helping me out and," with his eyes locked on the floor Jihoon went on, "sorry for being a dick."

That was the most natural and normal thing to say after what happened earlier, but to Jihoon's surprise, Wonwoo laughed. Puzzled, Jihoon tried to recall what he said just to make sure he didn't accidentally spout nonsense. 

"It's awkward, isn't it?" was what Wonwoo said afterward. 

It took a while for Jihoon to get that. He then sheepishly smiled. "Well... It is."

"It's fine though."

"What is?"

"This silence. I'm fine with it. I mean we don't have to act like we always do when Soonyoung and Jun are around." 

"Oh. Okay. That's...cool."

"And you don't really have to like constantly think of how to act when, you know, it's just us two."

"Wait. I-Is it too obvious?" Jihoon asked, getting a little jittery. 

"What? You being overly self-conscious with me? Well yeah. It is."

_Crap. So he already saw through me. Damn it. If only the world could swallow me whole now._

"It's okay. To be honest even I don't know what to do, or say right now."

"Right," Jihoon said in a lowered voice. 

Nothing really changed even though they both had acknowledged the awkwardness that existed between them. It prompted Jihoon to wonder what was it that made them two so overly conscious of one another. 

It was an absolute stillness when Wonwoo spoke again. "You're not bad, you know, for acting the way you did earlier, when I tried to help you."

"Yeah?"

"I mean I get that you're panicked. And you can't really control your behaviour or your words when you're in that kind of state. So I never take it personally or anything."

"Oh, oh. That's...nice. Thanks, really." Jihoon said, appreciative, even though he couldn't shake the feeling that he should try to at least keep the conversation going. But if Wonwoo said he's fine with it, then there should be no problem, right? 

It was then they heard the sound that was not their voice. After the long wait, the maintenance team finally arrived and the work of fixing the elevator and rescuing the two young men trapped inside soon began. For some reason, Jihoon felt relaxed now that the rescue team was there. Before the silence could settle itself between them and let the tension amplify, the noise from outside had already purged it. 

When they finally were freed from the cubicle and were pulled into a tight hug by Soonyoung and Jun, the four friends bowed and thanked the maintenance team for their hardwork. The men and the woman who answered Wonwoo's call for help expressed their regret and humbly apologized for the inconvenience caused. As for their plan for that night, it was called off when Jihoon told them how tired and uncomfortable he was after getting stuck in an elevator with no air conditioner for god-knows-how-long. Wonwoo agreed with Jihoon and seeing how it was no longer the right mood for bowling or eating after what had happened, Soonyoung and Jun decided to call it a day.   
  
Somewhere along the way back, the original plan to leave Wonwoo and Jihoon alone made by both Soonyoung and Jun was completely forgotten. All thanks to the elevator incident. But still Jihoon was not at all happy with how everything turned out in the end.   
  
Sitting at the back of the car and leisurely watching the night view unrolled before him, Jihoon found himself focusing on the distant voices of his two friends mixed together with the soft noise from the radio. He didn't quite catch the topic of the conversation, but seeing how comfortable Soonyoung and Jun were with each other talking about anything Jihoon couldn't help but recall his awkward interaction with Wonwoo in the elevator. If it's Soonyoung or Jun, it never took long for Jihoon to let himself loose and mingle with them. When it came to Wonwoo, however, that guy was always a complicated case to him. Even he himself had no idea why. Jihoon tried to steal a glance at Wonwoo who sat beside him, only to find out that the latter had already fallen into a deep sleep. 

After giving it some thought, Jihoon decided he wouldn't mind this awkward relationship they had with each other as long as it didn't turn into something weird, or obnoxious. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yup. That's the end. Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated. 
> 
> (Also please let me know if I got things wrong in the fic. Like the breathing technique, for example.)


End file.
